1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a spring lock connector in which a spring locks male and female connectors in a properly connected state.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 7,588,454 discloses a spring lock connector that has a male connector with a receptacle, a female connector with a terminal accommodating portion to be fit in the receptacle and a spring to lock the male and female connectors in a properly connected state. The female connector further has an outer tube surrounding an outer periphery of the terminal accommodating portion. The spring has a U-shape with left and right legs and an upper part that couples the left and right legs. The spring is fit on the outer tube so that the left and right legs sandwich the outer tube from left and right sides. A lock arm is provided on the upper surface of the outer tube for releasing locking by lifting up an upper side of the spring.
Protection walls are arranged at opposite sides of the lock arm and two resilient pieces support the lock arm on the protection walls. The resilient pieces are coupled to a rear part of the lock arm so that the front end of the lock arm is free and can pivot vertically and laterally. An attempt could be made to lift up the upper part of the spring by pushing down an unlocking portion formed on the rear of the lock arm. However, the free end of the lock arm may displace laterally, leading to a situation where only one leg of the spring is lifted up and the other leg is not lifted up. Thus, locking cannot be released at the other leg and the male and female connectors cannot be separated.
The invention was completed in view of the above situation and aims to release locking reliably by preventing a lock arm from being laterally displaced when a spring is lifted up by the lock arm.